Ten UK companies, including Crondall Energy, poised to take the offshore wind industry by storm have joined the national Launch Academy, an award-winning technology acceleration programme, from the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult.

Launch Academy kicked off its latest national nine-month programme in Newcastle on the 6th March with companies from across the UK developing technology solutions to address some of the most significant challenges within offshore wind.

Since 2020, 47 companies have progressed through the regional and national programmes, over £33m of investment and grant funding has been raised and 48 patents have been filed. The latest national Launch Academy programme will run from now until December 2024 and is sponsored by leading industry heavyweights RWE, bp and ScottishPower Renewables.

Winning company Crondall Energy is developing an online mooring integrity management platform focused on estimating mooring line fatigue.

Joel Maisey, Energy Transition Manager at Crondall Energy, said: “We are delighted to be part of ORE Catapult’s Launch Academy as we bring the SAFEMOOR platform to market.

“SAFEMOOR will provide a fully integrated online mooring integrity management platform, for floating offshore wind. The purpose of SAFEMOOR is to estimate mooring line fatigue and performance in real time, to reduce visual inspection, improve reliability, and gather data to improve future mooring line designs.

“We believe this will be a real game changer for offshore wind developers. With the support of Launch Academy, Crondall Energy will soon be able to introduce this innovation to the offshore wind industry through a prototype program. We look forward to following the Launch Academy process with ORE Catapult.”

The nine-month programme will deliver bespoke support through a series of modules delivered by ORE Catapult and expert partners. These include legal, marketing, export, accountancy, intellectual property (IP), investor readiness, technology assessment, and business case reviews – worth up to £60,000 per company. At the end of the programme, companies also have the chance to pitch to ORE Catapult’s network of private investors and industry.

To find out more about Launch Academy 2024, please click here.

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Crondall Energy